Simpatica Redux
by Denigoddess2001
Summary: Oberon's Aunt Skylaris knows that a Gargoyle's heart doesn't break; it shatters. She dares Elisa and Goliath to look to the stars, make a wish to make all of their unspoken dreams and love to become reality.


Disclaimer: Gargoyles do not belong to me. They belong to Disney. This is set shortly after Hunter's Moon Part Three. (animated) and right after "You Had Me From Hello." Many thanks to Stonelight aka Demelza Watt for her input and inspiration. It's been many years since I've spoken to Demelza, but I remember the wonderful conversations that we used to have regarding one of Gargoyles' favorite couples, Goliath and Elisa.

08/09/13. I originally started this story about a decade ago, but never finished it. It's always been a favorite of mine, but, life gets in the way of when I plan other things. I've decided to take it out of storage, brush off the dust and give it an update. I've reedited and given it some new life. The first chapter originally was a songfic based upon an an old song called "Silent Lucidity." Now, when I think of this story, I think Christina Perri's 'A Thousand Years' is much more appropriate for a new story in this new millennium. Besides, who isn't a sucker for an Elisa/ Goliath romance?

Saga: Simpatica  
Story: Chapter 1: Colors and Promises  
Fandom: Gargoyles  
Genre: Romance/ Fantasy  
Rating: PG-3  
Characters: Elisa Maza, Goliath and Skylaris

08/09/2013

**So it began on a starlit night. . .**

Skylaris watched as Goliath wept alone in the night. Gargoyle rarely shed tears, but this lavender leviathan an old, responsive soul. She found it hard to turn away from the bellowing howls of anguish being torn from the clan leader's heart. The goddess watched his bereaved image weeping for his lost love, Elisa Maza. The Dragon's heart shattered as each tear fell from onyx eyes onto bronze skin.

"You more so than most, brave clan leader, know the loss of love," she murmured, longing to reach out to the young protector and give him comfort. Yet, such was not the way to cure the pain that ailed him. "You have lost your beloved Gargoyle mate leaving you alone in this world. You have longed to complete the bond with one who touches your heart. So much has been the desperation that you have reached beyond your kin into the world of humans."

The emerald head of the great ancient dragon leaned closer to the scrying pool in the midst of the marble floor of the lair. A shimmer of light and a movement of wave in air like a mirage surrounded the serpentine form of the Gargoyle deity. Skylaris now appeared in the form of the Nubian beauty she so favored. With haired braided with emerald and amethyst beads and eyes of violet, she appeared very much like an ancient deity from a time long past.

She brought her legs under her and sat down by the pool. She waved her hand gracefully over the silvery, still waters of the scrying pool. As Goliath roared his release and his anguish, Elisa Maza simultaneously stirred in her sleep. Two souls knowing a love eons old, but neither soul was complete without the other. Both souls searched in the eyes of all they met for completion. Oberon could take his laws and edicts and cram them were the sun didn't shine as far as the old one was concerned and she knew that her time of passive observation was long past.

She saw Elisa Maza sleeping in her bed alone. Skylaris watched the young detective stirring fretfully in her troubled slumber. Skylaris waved her tapered hand over the pool to invade the realm of Elisa's deepest, hidden dreams. Oberon had declared that his Children couldn't interfere in mortals' affairs, but since when was his Aunt a Child of Oberon? She dared cross the boundary of will and agency to dwell in the young woman's innermost thoughts. "All right, little protector, let's see what you truly want and need."

Elisa stood alone in the dream realm, staring into an antique cheval. The Nubian entity walked behind her. The young detective startled at seeing the strange figure standing regally behind her. "Who are you?"

"I am Skylaris," she gave the young woman a smile to reassure her. "Ring a bell?"

"I've heard the name," Elisa's eyes locked in a stare-down with Skylaris's serene gaze. She thought that Goliath might have mentioned it at one time. " A friend mentioned it recently."

"I think you know who I am," Skylaris laid her hands on her shoulders. "If not, by the end of this dream, you will."

"You're the Child of Oberon that has a soft spot for Gargoyles," Elisa felt like a frightened rabbit in the presence of a hungry wolf. That same said Child of Oberon was usually depicted as a large, fire-breathing dragon with an unpredictable temper and a trickster's sense of humor.

"Amongst other things," Skylaris raised delicately arched brows and met Elisa's gaze in the mirror. "And a few humans."

"Really? I never knew that."

"You have been touched by Puck's magic and have known what it is to feel the wind beneath your wings. You have had a Gargoyle's heart."

"For all of one night," Elisa felt regret and loss fill her.

"And when you were returned to your true form, it left you with an inexplicable emptiness."

"Yeah, it did." Elisa shrugged. "Life goes on."

"When Goliath was human, your heart soared," Skylaris gave Elisa a deliberate smile. "He stole your breath with his his alpha male mystique and old-school manners. Admit it, Elisa Maza, you like being treated like a lady instead of just a badge."

"Hey, it's all true," Elisa sighed sadly and turned from the mirror. "There's no point in rehashing the past because not going to change. I'm human and he's a gargoyle. We both know it. It just wasn't meant to be."

"Says who, child?" Skylaris scoffed.

"Says Fate," Elisa stuck her hands in her pockets. Her shoulders gave a helpless shrug. "Unless I'm willing to take a stone nap by day or Goliath loses his wings, it isn't going to happen."

"That is complete nonsense, Elisa. I've never been a believer in Fate because I believe each creature in the universe writes his or her destiny, including you. Not all is written in the stars, Elisa, most of what we are and what we becomes from our choices."

"Well, I know that things are just the way they are and I can't change them," Elisa's distant gaze found a point in the darkness and focused upon it. Her voice grew soft and quiet. "No matter how much I want to."

"Goliath is dying slowly each night for want of you. Your mother is a descendant from a long line of great Ethiopian queens. With noble lines come greatness of heart. Let's say that you fall under my care as any child of mine does. I have, how shall I put this? I have walked amongst your kind once or twice. I've known human love and it has begotten me an understanding and appreciation for your species. I also know that you have sacrificed much for the sake of the Gargoyles. All that has not escaped my notice, Elisa."

"What are you saying, Skylaris?" Elisa turned to face the great lady dressed in vibrant green tradition African print.

"Look to the stars, Elisa. Don't consider yourself and Goliath star-crossed quite yet," Skylaris nodded in the direction of the mirror. "Tell me, Elisa. Look at the reflection, do you like what you see?"

Elisa returned her attention to the antique cheval before her in the darkness. She expected to see herself in the reflection. "Jalapeño."

The reflection that met her eyes wasn't Elisa Maza. Dark eyes and long sable tresses belonged to the form in the mirror. A bronze complexion complimented the dark features of the person before her. Instead of firm, full breasts, the form possessed broad shoulders and a powerful chest. Tall as Elisa was, the form in front of her towered head and shoulders above her, maybe six-four or six-five. She watched the powerful form stare through rather than at her. The sculpted physique finally spoke. "My Elisa. . ."

The low baritone resonated through her entire being. Her heart hammered in her chest as she heard the seductive bass rumbling in his voice. She reached out quickly to touch the mirror. Her fingers sank through it as if the glass were cool, still water and she felt warm flesh beneath her fingers. For a moment, the veil between realms allowed this handsome human to see the woman on the dark side of the glass. His eyes went wide with astonishment; his jaw fell agape with joyful bewilderment. "Elisa..."

"Goliath," she dared to whisper. "Is it really you?"

The man's face saddened. His dark eyes closed as if to block pain or to stop falling tears. He turned away as the veil fell between them. The glassed darkened to black. Elisa rushed forward and grabbed the metal frame of the aged antique. A tight fist banged against the cold glass and shivered with the hint of breaking.

"Skylaris, you have a really cruel sense of humor," Elisa said.

"No, I am offering you a glimpse of what you want."

"Goliath isn't meant to be a human."

"Were you meant to be a Gargoyle?" she countered.

"No. It just happened."

"Exactly, someone made a choice to change your form for his amusement. He who shall remain nameless," Puck's image came to Skylaris' mind and it was all she could do to keep from choking with disdain. "Don't resign yourself to fate, Elisa. It limits your options."

"What are you saying?"

"You can have your wish," Skylaris turned the young woman to face her. "I can give you what you long for, you need only ask."

Elisa's eyes fell to the floor. Goliath as a human. We could be together. But, it wouldn't be right. He's a Gargoyle. He wouldn't have his clan. The city needs him. All the lives he's touched. If there were no Goliath, so many would suffer. It's his choice.

"Mere details, Elisa," the Nubian woman gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "This is what I offer you: thirty days where the Love of your life is human. At the end of thirty days, you and he may choose to stay in the realm where you have known him as a human lover or return to the realm you know where he is a Gargoyle.

"What's the catch?" Elisa eyed the goddess warily. "You aren't a Child of Oberon, are you?"

"God love you, Daughter of Gaia," her laughter rang like pristine chimes. "Me? A child of Oberon? I don't think so! Oberon is MY nephew. His mother, Queen Mab, is my sister. Don't let his hoity-toity song-and-dance muddle your sound mind. I was watching your ancestors learning to walk upright while he still wore diapers."

The vision of Oberon in diapers brought a ghost of a smirk to Elisa's lips. "You're what?"

"You heard me," Skylaris saw the look of Elisa's confusion. "I am known in many realms and Gargoyles are dispersed through many dimensions. That is another tale, Elisa. Suffice it to say, that I am older than Oberon and twice as crafty. The difference between he and I is that I have common sense and he spouts crap out both ends of himself. Don't worry, child. I've no desire to play you for my own whims because that's not how I operate."

"So, there's no catch to your offer?"

"There isn't any catch but, there are costs." Skylaris said gravely. She watched Elisa's brow narrow in suspicion. "Never before have I witnessed such a cynical heart. I thought Brooklyn was bad."

"And what are those costs?" Elisa pressed.

"The world will be drastically different than you know it. You will be lost unless you keep your wits about you. What you know as familiar will be bizarre in some aspects. Goliath will not know the ways of the world as you do and you'll feel, at times, as though you've entered a re-run of the Twilight Zone. You'll have to use every cop instinct you possess because a part of the universe will be fighting to resume what it considers the natural order of things. You will be a creature out of your environment and in a place not used to your presence."

Elisa nodded in understand of the goddess' words. "What about my job here?"

"No one will know of your absence except save you," Skylaris' warmth was infectious. Elisa's barely contained the excitement growing within her.

"What about Goliath?"

"Watch in the glass, Elisa, and know his heart that remains buried beneath a mountain of stoicism," Skylaris pointed to the mirror.

Elisa thought she was watching a motion picture play before her eyes. The reflection cast by the mirror showed Goliath in her apartment. He stood over her in the shadows, watching her like an archangel of twilight. She lay asleep on the sofa sound asleep, shivering as a cold draft moved through the apartment that came in just as Goliath closed the balcony door behind him. She saw the half-finished can of soda and the open magazine lying on the coffee table.

She looked questioningly at Skylaris.

"It happens now as we speak, Daughter of Gaia, that's you playing sleeping beauty," Skylaris nodded in the direction of the reflection. "A Gargoyle's love knows not pride nor arrogance. Goliath's love for you is continuing as granite and affluent in tenderness. His heart is absent of selfishness or jealousy, but it's his way is to remain quiet in his love for you. After a thousand years of pain and heartbreak, you are the one person bring him elation and joy besides his daughter. He hopes against hope that you will become his become his destiny. A Gargoyle's heart loves you fiercely and well, Elisa. Watch and learn."

In the reflection, Goliath cloaked his wings about him and made his way to her. A large lavender talon brushed away a stray tendril of hair that fell across her face. Growing concern prompted him to act as servant as he carefully untied the laces of her boots, removing them from Elisa's feet. He removed each boot slowly and carefully so not to awaken her, setting them neatly underneath her coffee table.

She murmured some inaudible reply and shifted slightly in her sleep. The lavender leviathan took the comforter from the back of her sofa and draped it over Elisa. She instinctively drew her knees to her chest and rolled on to her side. Goliath drew back as if burnt when she mumbled his name in her sleep. He drew back in astonishment as his name was whispered on her lips. It filled the hollow ache in his heart just a little to know that he was a part of her dreams.

"How do I know this isn't some illusion you're making up?" Elisa gave Skylaris a skeptical glance.

"Let's turn up the volume," Skylaris chuckled. "Let's see see what Goliath is thinking, complete with subtitles. Listen for yourself."

He paused to watch her next reaction, casting a gaze toward the late-night shopping channel playing on her television. He took the remote in hand and pushed a button that made the screen go black. Goliath turned to leave when a tangy aroma caught his attention, consisting of cinnamon and musk. He leaned closer to Elisa, inhaling deeply of her scent.

His eyes glared with white fire as he recognized the fragrance; a combination of musk, pheromones, and her favorite perfume that he had given her at Christmas. Goliath knew that Elisa's scent intimated her time of fertility. The pheromones had been faint at the beginning of Avalon's quest, but by the end of the expedition, the scent had been almost unbearable for Goliath. The scent mingled with the cinnamon and wafted in an elixir that befuddled his senses, nearly driving him into an insatiable mating frenzy that was purely primal, passionate and Gargoyle.

_My Elisa, you are driving me mad_, Goliath inwardly groaned. He felt the leather of his loincloth tighten and become considerably uncomfortable. He fought the maddening urge to wake her from her deep sleep and declare what heart truly felt for her. Each night, he fought the desire to mark her as his mate and he combated the need of by partaking in a human custom once told to him by David Xanatos: a cold shower.

_I will be one of honor. I will leave_. Goliath turned to go but cast one last longing glance at Elisa contentedly snoring on the sofa. He vowed to wait until she approached him. He knew that she trembled when he touched her and she quivered when he brushed against her. Her heartbeat galloped when he held her to him, but he vowed not to use her passions as a means to winning her. A good Gargoyle waits.

Goliath made his way to the window and stepped on to the roof, forcing himself into the air to make his way to the clock tower. He refused to give into the persistent need to sheathe him within Elisa Maza. He forced away any thought that didn't include her willingness and knew that waiting was the only option.

"I never knew he felt like that," Elisa whispered in awe. She wrapped her arms around her as she heard his thoughts aloud as if they belonged to her. She held her hand outwards to ward away the bittersweet visions appearing in the glass. She turned her head from the mirror and shut her eyes. "Stop it! It's not right to bare his soul like this without his knowledge or consent."

"Trust me, Elisa, he wants to tell you, but you won't let him." Skylaris said tersely. "Now, when you awake, I want you to remember this dream. Think about it. Tomorrow night, go to Goliath. Look at the stars and you'll see me in the skies above the Big Apple. Just because a fruit is too high for you to grab doesn't mean it's forbidden, it's only out of reach. Maybe you need to work with Goliath to grab that fruit. How badly do you want it?"

All went black.

Elisa bolted upright. She felt droplets of perspiration tracing a path down the side of her brow. She looked underneath the coffee table and found her boots neatly placed next to each other. She found the remote sitting on the table rather than in her hand. She rose and walked to the unlatched window. She saw the sun peaking just above the Manhattan skyline and knew that it was going to be a long day until sunset.

************

The sun didn't set quickly enough for the Elisa. She hurriedly made her way to the clock tower as speedily as her feet allowed her. Each step seemed like ten as she sprinted into the police station.

"Maza, what are you doing here?" Chavez eyed her with surprise. "I know you're dedicated to your job, but I told you to take two nights off."

"I know, Captain," Elisa looked hastily at her watch and hated lying to her superior. "I just dropped by to pick up my wallet that I left here a couple of nights ago."

"Go home and relax," Captain Chavez turned her attention to another officer in need of authorization for an interrogation.

Elisa hastily made her way to the broom closet, running up several flights of stairs without stopping until she reached the clock tower. She shoved open the door of the clock tower and came to the roof to see seven proud figurines standing guard over a harsh and unforgiving city.

"Show time, Goliath." she murmured and stepped back a good distance. More than once, chinks had been taken from her leather by sharp shards of flying granite as the Gargoyles came to life. She never grew tired of watching their marvelous transformation of stone becoming flesh. Elisa felt the air become electrified with anticipation as she watched the fissures deepen with Goliath's stone skin.

His eyes came alive with a fierce bright fire she knew well. The stone skin exploded around him as his roar burst from his chest. The resounding sound thundered and echoed off the castle walls. His wings unfurled in their expansive glory. He turned to face the courtyard of the castle and saw Elisa standing there with hands in pockets and feet shuffling. He lept eagerly from the parapet and cloaked his wings about him a cloak of gabardine elegance.

"Elisa, you're a welcome sight to greet me," Goliath's voice rumbled low as he strode forward so that he stood only a few inches from her. "I dreamt of you, My Love."

"Hi yourself, Big Guy," her voice sounded casual but her eyes betrayed her. He knew she kept her heart well hidden from the others. "I missed you."

"And I, you." he drew her protectively into his arms. His agile tail snaked affectionately around her waist. His wings draped about her, blocking out the world. "Much more than my heart should be allowed."

"Good evening', Lass." Hudson's Scottish lilt found her ears and she saw him wink at her. "It's good seeing ye. I thought yer night off 'twas last night."

"No, Chavez called me earlier today and gave me another day because of that recent sting on Nightstone Enterprises."

"Goliath, don't be squeezing Elisa too hard," Hudson said. "She needs to be able to breathe."

"I will be careful, old friend," the solemn vow contained more than a hint of mirth from the clan leader.

"Hi, Elisa! Bye Elisa!" Brooklyn led Angela by the hand past them.

"Where are you two going in such a hurry?" Goliath turned his head to his daughter and her mate.

"Westfest!" Broadway grinned. "A twenty-four hour marathon of John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and other Old West Cowboy movies is showing at Central Park. We have to hurry or we'll be late."

"I see," Goliath chuckled. "Angela, Brooklin, have a good evening."

"We will, Father," Angela called back as the two Gargoyles unfurled their wings and caught the updrafts of the New York sky.

Lex and Brooklyn looked at the private moment taking place between Goliath and Elisa. "Lex, what do ya say we do a patrol and then join Angela and Brooklyn at Westfest?"

"Cool," Lex answered eagerly. "Hey, we'd better check out that jewelry store on the upper west side. A couple of robberies took place in that neighborhood this week."

The two warriors looked tentatively at their clan leader. Goliath gave them a nod. "Go on patrol and enjoy your evening."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Brooklyn turned to Lexington. "Hungry?"

"Famished." They took to the skies and were soon just blips against the full moon.

"Finally, " Goliath lowered his brow to hers and inhaled deeply of her scent. She smelled of sweet jasmine, cinnamon, and that feminine musk that drove Goliath to the brink of madness a week each a month. His eyes smoldered with desire. He growled and his tail lashed furiously with unspoken agitation.

"Are we alone?" Elisa whispered against the lavender shell of Goliath's elegantly pointed ear.

"Yes," that one word gave him the freedom to unleash the Gargoyle lurking beneath the guise of clan leader. "Jalapeño, Elisa. Now, I want to properly greet you."

He brought his lips to hers in an affirmation of his abiding devotion. Goliath cautiously sought her taste with his pointed smooth tongue. Elisa felt her hunger rise to critical levels as he seduced her with his hesitant kiss. She readily deepened it, wrapping her arms around his neck and he rumbled with pure Gargoyle gratification as Elisa silently pleaded for more. She pressed herself tightly against every sculpted contour of him and felt his wings drape around her like gabardine.

Goliath dared to take the role of clan leader and alpha male. He remembered a display of affection that he had seen not so long ago in a movie. He let his taloned hands slowly trail a path of heated caresses and tender touches from Elisa's shoulders to the small of her back. His hands found her tight derriere beneath blue denim. He gently cuddled each globe in his grasp.

"Goliath-" Elisa felt warmth and delight permeate her being. He decided to lay his mark upon her as kissed her fiercely and well and suddenly lifted her so that her denim-clad bottom settled over his growing desire. Her luscious curves cradled him and Elisa couldn't mistake the deep groan that escaped from his throat. He turned her around and sat her upon the edge of the parapet. Hard chest against feminine softness, granite abdomen against svelte athletic curves. Elisa thought she'd fall off the building if Goliath didn't have such a strong hold on her

"Shh, My Love," he brought his fangs to a delicate point on her neck and carefully nipped the pulsating point. Elisa forgot all restraint as her fingers nestled within the long, thick sable mane. Her cries of delight excited him to the point of frenzy. "Elisa, what are we doing? Why do we punish ourselves?"

"I don't know," she murmured into Goliath's chest. "We're crazy for doing this to ourselves."

She almost knew at the precise moment when the civilized veneer gave way to the primal mating urge that he worked so diligently to control during this time of the month. She felt his talons dig sharply into the tender flesh of he bottom while his sharp canines bit harder and broke skin. She yelped in pain when she felt his teeth sink into her skin.

"Goliath! What the hell are you doing?"

Her question broke through the passionate haze that addled his mind. Goliath set her on her feet and tore himself away from their embrace. His closed fist came crashing down upon the granite of the stone parapet, causing the stone to fracture into a few small pieces. A loud bellow of frustration shattered the urban hustle and bust of a Manhattan night. For a minute, the Big Apple seemed utterly silent.

"Goliath," Elisa laid a hand on his muscular lavender arm. "It's okay. We got a little carried away, but it's not the end of the world."

"Okay is never enough for either of us," he turned to face the woman before him. His eyes were hooded as he looked down at her. One large talon crooked under her chin and lifted her gaze to meet his. "You and I love one another. We agreed that species matters little, yet I could have injured just now had we continued. That isn't right, Elisa."

"I'm a tough lady and I don't think you would," Elisa quickly reassured him. "We've came this far, we'll figure away around this too."

"I am not myself," Goliath managed to say through gritted teeth. His eyes gleamed with the fires of raging desire. "I promised that I would wait for you to come to me, but it is getting more difficult to control my passion for you. I can't guarantee that I can contain the desires stirring within me. I'd rather die than hurt you, Elisa. Maybe it's best if you leave."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Goliath," Elisa refused to back away.

"What do you mean?" Goliath said warily. "I've frightened you, haven't I?"

"There is no 'beast' inside you anymore than there's a 'monkey' running inside of me. We are what we are and we aren't either of those things," Elisa's frustration prompted her to wrap her arms around his waist. She lovingly rested her cheek against the broad width of his back. "Do you remember telling me about some dragon named Skylaris?"

"Skylaris?" Goliath's voice shot up an octave and his brow ridge almost flew off his face. "I may have mentioned her once in passion. Why do you ask?"

"Do you?" She pressed on with her questions.

"Aye, though I haven't heard the name since I was a hatchling," Goliath admitted. "She was a fading legend by the time I was hatched into the clan. She is a meddlesome Child of Oberon that has an affection for Gargoyles. In ancient times, she was very kind to all of the clans."

"So, she does she exist?"

"I only know her to be legend," Goliath found the strength to again face his ladylove. "Why do you ask?"

"I had a dream last night, Big Guy. She was in it and she offered me a chance to be with you," Elisa watched his eyes widen. "with you as a human."

"How do you know that it isn't Puck playing one of his tricks?"

"Puck can't do anything unless he's instructing Alexander," Elisa said. "She was pretty convincing."

"I am not so certain," his eyes narrowed with wariness. "Did she give you proof?"

"What constitutes proof?" Elisa asked.

"What did she say?"

"I don't remember everything, Goliath, but she showed me a vision of you taking off my boots and turning off my television. You covered me with a blanket. I heard your thoughts as if they were my own. Goliath, I thought I was he only one with a raging case of the uncontrollable hormones." Elisa's hid her face in his chest.

"No, Love," she looked up to see two plum stains adorning Goliath's cheeks. "You and I both. What was her offer?"

"Thirty days with you as a human," Elisa said. "It would be a different world."

Silence fell between them as the shadows silhouetted the Gargoyle's face from her view.

"Is that something you want?" He finally spoke. "Would you like it if I were human?"

"I love you just as you are," Elisa rushed to reassure him. "But, the thought. . .well, I hate to say it. It sounded tempting."

"What would we have to do to make this wish come true?"

"Goliath, c'mon!" Elisa cried in shock. "You can't seriously be considering-"

"You've already given it serious consideration if you're mentioning it to me now. It is something that I am very much considering." he pressed a loving kiss to her brow. He closed his eyes to block out the visions of loving Elisa in full Gargoyle fashion. "I will not risk hurting you."

"You've never hurt me yet, Big Guy, and you wouldn't if we made love," Elisa dared to say what remained unspoken. "It's not like we couldn't figure out ways around obstacles."

"If I were human, would you still want me?" He asked in a whisper. "If you did, would you prefer that form?"

"No! I fell for you, Goliath the Gargoyle."

"Would it be so bad to try it for a time?" Onyx eyes searched her soul. "Can we continue on like this, always together yet forever apart?"

"I don't care what we are as long as we're together," Elisa admitted to the lavender giant before you. She rested her head again against his chest. "Goliath, I want you as much as I love you."

"It burns me alive with it's fervor," he whispered. "I become lost when I with you."

"Ditto, Big Guy."

"What must we do?" He brushed a stray tendril from her face.

"She said look for her in the stars," Elisa's gaze moved to the skies above them. "I can't see the stars from here."

Goliath deftly swept his her into his arms. "Then, we shall go to a place where we can see each star in all its glory."

His wings unfurled to their sixteen-foot span. He looked down with love shining brightly in his eyes. "I know just the place."

Goliath dove from the parapets over the sea of neon, letting the warm currents of wind catch his wings as they rode breeze. Elisa's head rested against his powerful chest. She heard the solid rhythm beat hard and faster inside his chest. His eyes kept their focus straight ahead as they made their way past the skyline. For the next hour, they flew past the glowing lights of the City. They spoke in hushed tones of their hopes and dreams.

Elisa felt adrenaline race through her entire body and knew Goliath caught her scent because he recited passages from Othello to keep his mind sane. He finally landed in a small clearing several miles upstate in a small town known as Salem Center, New York. In the secluded glen of the city park, they stared at the stars in their entire brilliant splendor.

"It is said that Skylaris once resided on Avalon and guarded the great Rowan tree. When Oberon stole the throne from his mother, all the Kiari fae were cast out from their home. Skylaris chose to side with Oberon and befriended the Gargoyles because they had fought against Mab's evil. Their youngest sister is legend. She became the Lady of the Lake," Goliath pointed to the darkened tapestry of the heavens. "There is Skylaris in the sky above us."

Elisa followed the direction of Goliath's pointed talon. Elisa languidly traced the pattern of the sky. "We always called it Draco."

"An apt, if not bland, description of Skylaris's splendor," he mused. "It is said that she made her home in the heavens. It is a part of our tradition that we are not of this world but that one star."

Goliath singled out a bright star within the center of the constellation. "There, that star is called Thubin. It is said that is our home and not this place. Legend says that when a wish is made upon the tears of Skylaris, she grants them without reserve."

"Tears of Skylaris?" Elisa truly was perplexed.

"Falling stars, Love," Goliath nuzzled the side of her neck. His arms drew her to him so that her back rested against his broad chest. His wings protected her from the cooling breezes of late night. "They're actually meteor showers called Omicron Draconids."

"When did you become such an expert in astronomy?" Elisa marveled at Goliath's depth of knowledge.

"Xanatos have an extensive library," his scent hinted of leather, musk, and fresh Scottish heather. Somehow, the floral scent Elisa detected only added to his perfect masculine carriage.

"Figures," she knew Goliath was an avid reader.

A stream of crimson tail with bright points streaked across the late night sky. They glanced anxiously at each other. His tail found her waist and he held her tightly too him. She heard his breath quicken. "Now, Elisa! Make your wish. Let it come true. However you wish it, I will always be with you."

She met his eyes and knew that this was what she wanted. She loved him as a Gargoyle but her fears and his reservations needed circumvention. Perhaps, this was the opportunity they needed. Elisa whispered three words that Goliath strained to hear. "Let's do it."

She cast her eyes toward the heavens on the glorious display of starlight and fire. She drew strength from Goliath's reassuring presence. She focused her eyes on the most brilliant luminosity of the meteor swarm. The words of the old childhood rhyme echoed inside her mind. Then, the came in a hushed tone from her lips.

"Starlight, star bright  
First Star I see tonight.  
I wish I may, I wish I might  
I wish upon this star tonight.  
I wish...  
I wish that Skylaris would grant me what she promised: thirty days of love with Goliath with him being human."

The breeze stilled and the world became silent. Each comet of Omicron Draconids rained to earth as the lost halos of fallen angels. Light extinguished and darkness overran the duo standing in the city park. Elisa felt no fear, no anxiety in the endless darkness. She felt only the strong presence of Goliath behind her, above her and through her being.

The breeze became warm. The chirping of crickets filled her ears. The darkness ebbed and the lampposts bathed her and her lover in dim golden light. The autumn breeze chilled he through her jacket. She knew that it had been a wild daydream to think a dream could bring a wish come true. She turned to look at Goliath.

Goliath wasn't there. Elisa found herself in the arms of a strapping man with sable hair to his waist and handsomely chiseled features. There were no wings. There was no tail. No talons caressed her soft skin. Lavender no longer existed. Deep bronze greeted her eyes.

"Goliath?"

"Yes, Love, and no." came the same sweet, sensual baritone that always seduced Elisa into compliance. "Gregory."

"What?"

"Goliath is here, but, so am I."

"Jalapeno!" The air rushed from her lungs at the drastic change of the person before her. "Who are you?"

"Call me Gregory."


End file.
